Seals, such as mechanical face seals, including metal seals and rigid seals, are commonly applied in undercarriages of construction machines. For example, seals may be applied in track rollers and chain links of an endless track of the construction machines, to maintain a smooth operation of the endless track. More specifically, such seals are commonly employed to prevent lubricants, such as grease, from leaking from a junction formed by one or more moving components of the endless track.
In operation, such seals may repeatedly slide against surfaces of adjoining components (i.e. there may be metal-to-metal contact), and if such operations were to continue for prolonged periods, friction may be generated between the seal and the adjoining components. A generation of friction may cause seal wear and excessive heat generation, which in turn may increase the chances of seal seizure and damage. Seal seizure and damage may also potentially affect operations of one or more components surrounding the seal.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,138,805 relates to a mechanical face seal rings having a metallurgically bonded wear-resistant coating on the wear surfaces and methods for forming such coated components. The face seal rings, which can be formed of a relatively inexpensive base metal or alloy, have a hard metal alloy slurry disposed on the wear surfaces and then fused to form a metallurgical bond with the iron-based alloy. The wear-resistant coating comprises a fused, metal alloy comprising at least 60% iron, cobalt, nickel, or alloys.